The European steel industry has called on EU institutions to preserve the integrity of the Emissions Trading System (ETS) and strengthen the carbon Emissions Regulation Mechanism (CBAM), warning that current investment decisions will determine whether steel production, jobs and industrial value creation will remain in Europe.
In a joint statement, Outokumpu, SSAB, Salzgitter AG, Saarstahl, Dillinger and Stahl-Holding-Saar said they were collectively investing more than 10 billion euros in low-emission steel production and asset upgrades, but stressed that continued investments required predictable and reliable financing. A reliable political foundation.
Companies are calling for the preservation of key ETS mechanisms
The companies called the ETS a cornerstone of the EU's climate policy and said its carbon pricing signal should be preserved.
They called for maintaining the linear reduction factor (LRF) at 4.4 percent until at least 2035, aligning the trajectory after 2035 with the EU Climate Law 2040, maintaining the existing CBAM coefficient and the schedule for phasing out free distribution, and preventing the use of the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) to artificially increase quota supply. on emissions.
According to the statement, weakening the ETS will undermine investment certainty, punish first-time investors, and delay industrial decarbonization.
Metallurgists are striving for more active reinvestment of CBAM and ETS revenues
The companies argued that the main issues hindering competitiveness were high energy costs due to dependence on fossil fuels, infrastructure deficiencies, and a global excess of steelmaking capacity, rather than carbon pricing. The steelmakers also stressed that effective protection against carbon leakage is essential. They stated that CBAM should be strengthened by extending its effect to steel products, preventing workarounds and implementing a permanent export solution. They added that ETS is profitable and should be reinvested in industrial decarbonization, especially in the sectors covered by CBAM.
Finally, they called on EU institutions to protect the ETS, avoid measures that could lower carbon prices, and accelerate the strengthening of CBAM, saying that a competitive, low-carbon- European steel industry is essential to ensure Europe's sovereignty, security, and resilience.
Author: Stilorbis
Steelorbis.com